{"id":123512,"date":"2025-09-06T16:15:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:15:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123512\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T16:15:10","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T16:15:10","slug":"queens-10-word-olive-branch-to-meghan-markle-in-attempt-to-bend-the-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123512\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen’s 10-word olive branch to Meghan Markle in attempt ‘to bend the rules’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Queen Elizabeth II did not want Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave the royal fold for a new life in California, it is today argued – but the monarch was unable to prevent so-called “Megxit”<\/p>\n

02:46, 06 Sep 2025Updated 02:57, 06 Sep 2025<\/p>\n

\"QueenQueen Elizabeth II despaired at the notion of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leaving the UK, it is said(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> tried desperately to stop “Megxit” – even saying to Meghan Markle<\/a>: “You can go back to acting if you want to”.<\/p>\n

But the 10-word offer was not enough to prevent Prince Harry<\/a> and Meghan quitting royal duties for their new life in California in 2020. Harry, 40, is now American resident and has severed links with the royal family<\/a>, the crown and the country.<\/p>\n

His grandmother, with whom he shared a close bond, didn\u2019t want Harry and Meghan to leave, according to Paul Burrell<\/a>, a former servant of the royal family. He said: “There is no doubt in my mind that she didn\u2019t want Harry and Meghan to leave. She did not want \u2018Megxit\u2019 as it was dubbed, as she knew they would be estranged from her world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The Queen even said to Meghan: \u2018You can go back to acting if you want to.\u2019 She was willing to bend the rules for Meghan, and offered to talk to her whenever she had any problems.”<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Meghan Markle sparks jewellery trend with charm accessory on Netflix show<\/a>READ MORE: King Charles will only meet Prince Harry ‘if he abides by one strict rule’<\/a>\"PrincePrince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in 2017(Image: PA)\"LessLess than two years after tying the knot, Meghan and Harry left the UK for the US(Image: Aaron Chown\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Meghan, 44, was an actress, having starred in dramas, including Suits, Fringe and Castle, over the years. She also had roles in films, such as Horrible Bosses, before she became part of The Firm.<\/p>\n

And, although the Queen took Meghan on her first engagement to show her the ropes to make sure she settled into royal life, things didn’t go as hoped and she and Harry decided to leave.<\/p>\n

Mr Burrell added: “She (the Queen) wanted them to stay but she was born into an Edwardian court and was nearly 60 years older than Harry. Her Majesty had lived in a different world from her grandson. How could the Queen understand all of Harry\u2019s problems? She couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

“They did, however, have a special relationship \u2013 particularly because Harry was something of a joker. He didn\u2019t always adhere to protocol. Everyone was very stiff and starchy around the Queen, which she disliked, but he was relaxed and funny.”<\/p>\n

Harry had a particularly strong bond with his grandmother, former royal butler Paul Burrell says (Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Harry is set to visit the UK for the first time in nearly six months this week, as he has an awards’ ceremony in his diary. Speculation of a reunion with dad King Charles<\/a> – and therefore a flirt with royal life again – is growing.<\/p>\n

But in a piece for the Daily Mail <\/a>today, Mr Burrell claims the picture looks bleak. He wrote: “Harry is now in an exile of his own making… It is such a shame because William and Harry with their wives were the \u2018Fab Four\u2019 and certainly for a time Harry and Meghan were \u2018the golden couple\u2019. They had everything.”<\/p>\n

The article is adapted from Mr Burrell’s book The Royal Insider, which is released on Thursday September 11.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Queen Elizabeth II did not want Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to leave the royal fold for a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134,33664,5513,46427],"class_list":{"0":"post-123512","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-meghan-markle","13":"tag-prince-harry","14":"tag-the-queen"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}